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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28229274">Lucy In The Sky With (Steven)</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account'>orphan_account</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Bucky &amp; The Rookie [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Captain America (Movies), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Artist Steve Rogers, F/M, Figure Drawing, Fluff, Mutual Pining, Nude Modeling, YEARNING because i need it, art classes, but its not explicit, just have an adult conversation please, steve is an innocent little cinnamon roll, this should not be this long</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 16:08:37</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>17,071</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28229274</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>You drag Bucky on a brunch date in the city, and you manage to introduce two polar opposites to one another: pure and innocent Steve and your rambunctious roommate Lucy. At least they seem to be polar opposites. Turns out, your two blonde best friends share a secret, one that might bring them to some common ground...</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>James "Bucky" Barnes/Reader, Steve Rogers/Original Female Character(s)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Bucky &amp; The Rookie [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2057070</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>40</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Soft Strokes</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/LucindaAM/gifts">LucindaAM</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Me: Okay, so we have a nice little fic here! Less than 2k words, a little fun vignette about Steve and Lucy. I think people will like it, let's post.</p><p>My brain: make it 500 pages long</p><p>Me: Wha...no. It's not that serious, they're kind of background characters in this series. Why would we do that? </p><p>My brain: you gotta </p><p> <br/>I fell down the rabbit hole with this one, but I hope you like it! The lovely LucindaAM agreed that a Steve/Lucy interaction would be fun, I just, erm, might have taken it a bit overboard. Please enjoyyy</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p> </p><p>            “This is such a pretty view,” you said, looking out at the Manhattan skyline through the floor-to-ceiling windows next to your table.</p><p>            The outing to the city had been your idea after you learned Bucky wasn’t familiar with one of the vital mainstays of your generation: brunch. You had been flabbergasted by his blank stare when you proposed the idea to him, and that was how you managed to wrangle two all-American fossils and your grumbling roommate on a Saturday morning to one of the best brunch spots in the city, a restaurant called <em>26</em> on one of the top floors of Stark Tower. Thankfully you had connections, so you had been able to snag a last-minute reservation (and the friends and family discount).</p><p>            “It is, but I’ve seen prettier,” Bucky said beside you, letting his hand rest on your thigh. You looked over at him and saw him grinning at you, a warm glint in his eyes that let you know that he wasn’t referring to any kind of scenery at all. You smiled shyly at him and leaned over to give him a quick and chaste peck on his lips which tasted like the sweet syrup and powdered sugar that accompanied his pancakes.</p><p>            “You two are insufferable,” Lucy snorted, taking a sip of her mimosa.  </p><p>            “Oh, it only gets worse. Especially when you’re trying to watch a movie,” Steve added, narrowing his eyes at you and Bucky. He still hadn’t forgiven the two of you for getting a little <em>too</em> handsy under a blanket on his couch that one night.</p><p>            You laughed. “Sorry, we can’t all be bitter and alone,” you quipped, taking a bite of your French toast. “C’mon, isn’t the view nice?” you urged again, gesturing to the window.</p><p>            “It is. I expect nothing less from Tony,” Steve conceded after a bite of his steak and eggs.</p><p>            “Yeah, it’s amazing,” Lucy agreed. She sighed dreamily and rested her chin in her hand, gazing out at the cityscape below. “It just makes you wanna…” she paused, seemingly grasping for the words.</p><p>            “Wanna what?” Steve prompted, grinning over at her.</p><p>            She looked up at him and smiled sweetly. “…get completely <em>fucked</em>. Just absolutely decimated, right against the glass for the whole city to see,” she concluded, hints of whimsy lacing her tone.</p><p>            Steve’s face froze somewhere between a deer caught in headlights and an inflated blowfish. You and Bucky laughed shamelessly at his expense. This was the first time Mr. Pure, Innocent, and Patriotic was spending time with Hurricane Lucy, and you had banked on it being an entertaining experience.</p><p>            You groaned playfully. “Lucy, it’s barely past noon.”</p><p>            She rolled her eyes. “Oh please, like I was the only one thinking it.” You were about to disagree with that, but Bucky interjected.</p><p>            “You were the only one who said it out loud,” he mumbled, pouring more syrup over his pancakes. You looked over at him incredulously, and he winked, forcing you to swallow hard.</p><p>             Well, now you were thinking about it. Geez.</p><p>            Steve cleared his throat, and you could see a tinge of color creeping up his neck. Lucy noticed too, and a devilish smirk crossed her face. You helplessly said a silent prayer that she would spare the poor guy, but it fell on deaf ears.</p><p>            “Is anyone gonna eat this?” Lucy asked the table, already reaching for the banana in the complimentary fruit bowl on the table. You shot her a look; you knew exactly what party trick she had in mind, but she ignored you, breaking the yellow skin and peeling it back delicately.</p><p>            “Cap?” Lucy said innocently over at him. Steve looked at her warily. “Did you know that botanically speaking, bananas are actually berries?”</p><p>            Steve’s face softened a bit with relief at the neutral subject. “No, I never heard that before.”</p><p>            She nodded. “Yeah, it’s true. Turns out, they’re just long…hard…<em>thick</em> berries,” she said. She looked him right in the eye as she placed the tip of the banana to her lips and slowly, painfully slowly, slid the fruit into her O-shaped mouth until only a fraction of it remained visible, before finally taking a bite.</p><p>            Steve looked like he was about to combust.</p><p>            “Why can’t you be more like Lucy?” Bucky murmured beside you. You glared at him and hit his arm, forgetting that you were sitting to his left, and your hand was met with the unforgiving and unyielding force of pure vibranium. You cursed and shook out your hand, and Bucky cackled, placing a gentle kiss on your knuckles before turning to Lucy. “Easy Luc, before the old man pops a vessel.”</p><p>            Lucy fought her laughter as she chewed and swallowed. “I can’t help it, he’s just so cute when he blushes,” she said, poking Steve’s cheek, which only made his color deepen. You tried your best not to laugh, but Bucky and Lucy were all too willing.</p><p>            The rest of the brunch went relatively smoothly (Steve was spared any further embarrassment) and the four of you made the car trip back to the compound in one piece. The guys split ways with you and Lucy, and the two of you headed back to your room.</p><p>            “I think I successfully made Captain America hate me,” Lucy said as you got in.</p><p>            You chuckled and shook your head. “No, you didn’t. Steve doesn’t hate anyone, I’m pretty sure it’s physically impossible for him.”</p><p>            “There’s a first time for everything, and you know I’m a trailblazer,” Lucy replied with a flip of her hair. “Very few can handle all of this,” she said, gesturing to herself with a flourish. The two of you laughed again, but Lucy had really meant what she said. It didn’t really matter what Steve Rogers thought of her. It wasn’t like she was the one dating his best friend, and besides that morning, he wasn’t someone who existed in her orbit. She doubted she would even cross his mind unless she was right in front of him.</p><p>            All Lucy was concerned with at that moment was getting a good night’s rest. That would be easy since you usually spent Saturday nights over at Bucky’s, and that also meant you wouldn’t be there in the morning to ask questions when she snuck off the compound at the ass crack of dawn. Sunday was her day, her little secret, her little hiding place.</p><p> </p><p>________</p><p> </p><p>            Esopus, NY really was an idyllic town, especially in the spring. It had been one Sunday morning a couple of semesters ago that Lucy had decided to venture into the town that surrounded the sprawling compound. It was just a fifteen-minute walk, and Lucy had enjoyed the picturesque scenery and calm quietness that contrasted with the buzzing energy she dealt with during the rest of the week. The townspeople joked that they were the best-protected citizens in the country with the Avengers being so near, and Lucy couldn’t help but think that wasn’t entirely untrue. Life in Esopus was normal, domestic, and it gave Lucy the reprieve she needed from the crazy life she had chosen for herself. In her explorations, she found a small art studio tucked into one of the smaller avenues in town. They offered weekly classes of all types, from photography, to sculpting, to painting, and more. It was just the place she needed, and without telling anyone, she went there every Sunday for early morning classes.</p><p>            It was 5:45 when Lucy made it to the studio the morning after brunch. She didn’t consider herself to be a morning person, but for these art classes she certainly was. It was the start of a new class (each one only lasted a few weeks), and she noticed a few familiar faces and a few new ones as she walked in. All in all, there were about ten people there, including Reina the instructor, who was very, very pregnant.</p><p>            “And how is little Lucy doing?” Lucy sing-songed as she stepped inside, crouching down to be at eye-level with Reina’s bump.</p><p>            Reina laughed. “It very well could be a Luke, you know,” she said, rubbing her belly gently.</p><p>            Lucy glared up at her before leaning in a bit closer. “Don’t listen to her,” she told the bump. She stood up and gave Reina a hug before moving along to her usual seat in the room.  </p><p>            “It’s so nice to see all of your shining faces this morning,” Reina said brightly, and the room grumbled with sleepy laughter. “We’re going to begin in a few. Our model is on his way now, so just get your things ready and let the caffeine kick in.”</p><p>            Lucy smiled, more to herself than anyone else, and opened her bag to unpack her things. She took out her pencils and charcoals, and laid her sketch pad against the easel in front of her. She was just about to get up and pour herself a cup of the studio’s cheap coffee, when another person entered the room, and her brain sputtered to a stop when she took in his tall frame and chiseled jaw.</p><p>            Captain America was in her art studio. </p><p>            Well, it wasn’t <em>hers</em>, but still. She wasn’t sure if this qualified as a dream or a nightmare.</p><p>            Lucy’s throat felt dry. What was he doing here? Didn’t he have, like, a mission to lead, or a bald eagle to ride? Her heart sank to her stomach. Good lord, was he the <em>model</em>? Lucy was about to start hyperventilating when to her relief, he walked past the stool in the middle of the room after greeting Reina, and searched for an open easel. There were two next to her that were open and he seemed to be deciding which one to choose when he looked up and noticed her for the first time.</p><p>            It was too late for Lucy to avoid eye contact, and she could feel heat rising up her neck. This was definitely karma for yesterday. <em>Never, ever doing that banana thing again</em>, she vowed silently. There was an awkward beat as the two of them just stared as they decided how to move forward with the situation. On the one hand, they weren’t really friends, but their best friends were dating each other, so that kind of obligated them to some sort of social interaction. Right?</p><p>            Apparently, Steve Rogers thought so because he let his face relax into a grin before walking over and taking the easel right next to hers.</p><p>            “Hi there,” he said politely as he unpacked his own supplies.</p><p>            “Hey,” Lucy managed to reply. Any confidence she had yesterday was gone. She felt exposed, like she had been caught doing something she shouldn’t have been doing. It was like the two halves of her life were colliding into one, and she had to admit, she did not like the sensation one bit.  </p><p>            “I wasn’t expecting to run into anyone here,” Steve said carefully, and she knew exactly what he meant. It wasn’t like any of the other cadets frequented the small town, or anyone else from the compound, for that matter. Usually, everyone made a mad dash for the city during their time off, which was something Lucy appreciated. She was just fine having Esopus all to herself, but now Steve Rogers was here, and the walls of her sanctuary were crumbling down.</p><p>            “Me neither,” was all she offered up. She decided to busy herself with checking the sharpness of her pencils.</p><p>            ”Is this your first class?” he asked, and she could tell he was straining to continue the conversation out of cordiality.</p><p>            “No. I’ve actually been coming here for a while now,” she admitted.</p><p>            “Really?”</p><p>            The surprise in his tone made her look over at him, and he was looking at her with his eyebrows raised.</p><p>            “Yeah, art is kind of my thing,” she said with a small grin. “Is this your first class?”</p><p>            He nodded. “Uh, yeah, I just found out about this place. I’ve been meaning to get back into it for a while, and this seemed like a good place to start. At least according to Google.”</p><p>            Lucy chuckled, a bit of ease slipping back into her. “Well, I think you made a good choice then, Cap.”</p><p>            He grinned and looked like he was about to say something else, but Reina called attention to the middle of the room. She was standing by the stool with a somewhat stout man in a black robe who looked like he was still trying to wake up.</p><p>            “Okay everyone! Frank has finally made it here, and we can get started,” Reina said, giving Frank’s shoulders an encouraging squeeze. “But first, why don’t we go around the room and introduce ourselves, since we’ll all be spending the next six weeks with each other.”</p><p>            There were a couple of groans of protest, and Lucy rolled her eyes. Reina was the only instructor here to insist on doing icebreakers, which might have been attributed to the fact that she also taught middle school kids during the week.</p><p>            “I saw that Lucy,” Reina said, putting her hands on her hips. “And just for that, you can go first, and we’ll go counterclockwise from there. Tell us your name and a fun fact about you.”</p><p>            “You just said my name,” Lucy murmured ruefully. She straightened her back and cleared her throat. “Hi. My name is Lucy, and my fun fact is that I know a guy who punched Hitler in the face like a hundred times and lived to tell the tale,” she declared, pointedly turning and smiling over at Steve. He flushed a bit and ducked his head, eyeing the room shyly, but he didn’t have much to worry about. Besides a few chuckles, no one seemed to care much that Captain America was in their art class. It was way too early for that, and Esopus residents weren’t really fazed by the appeal of superheroes anymore.</p><p>            “Go ahead, don’t be shy,” Reina urged Steve, as if he really needed any introduction. </p><p>            “Hi, my name is Steve,” he began. His lips formed around a wry smile as he gestured to Lucy. “And my fun fact is that I know a girl who can do something pretty interesting with a banana. If anybody has one handy, I’m sure she’d be happy to demonstrate.”</p><p>            Lucy’s mouth hung open and Steve just looked triumphantly to the rest of the class. Reina laughed and shook her head.</p><p>            “I have no doubt about that. We’ll forgive you two for those vague facts since you’re super spies, or whatever,” Reina said flippantly, “but the rest of you have no excuse. Dig deep people, bare your souls! There’s no judgment here. Okay, you, next,” she said, pointing to the guy on Steve’s right. The rest of the class made their introductions (none of the facts being particularly fun), and Reina seemed satisfied.</p><p>            “Alright, so for those of you who are new, and as a reminder for our frequent fliers, this class is a chance for you to express yourselves without hindrance, and to explore the human spirit in ways you never thought to before. Let your imaginations take over, and harness that energy through your fingertips,” Reina advised the class. She smiled widely and clapped her hands together. “Okay, Frank, the stage is yours!”</p><p>            With that, Frank lackadaisically untied the belt on his robe and let it fall to the ground revealing his entire birthday suit in all its glory. He took a seat on the stool, setting his elbow on his knee and resting his chin in his hand.</p><p>            “Perfect, now take the next hour and a half to sketch, and then we’ll share our work,” Reina concluded, and retreated to her own easel in the circle.</p><p>            Lucy chose a pencil and examined it carefully before deciding where to begin. She glanced over at Steve and was amused to find him frozen, staring at Frank with a mildly horrified expression on his face.</p><p>            “Something wrong, Cap?” she whispered softly.</p><p>            He jolted a bit, as if she had shaken him from a daze, and looked down at his hands. “Uh, no, I just didn’t realize we’d be drawing…him. All of him,” he whispered back.</p><p>            “The class is called ‘The Human Figure.’ Did you think we’d be drawing puppies and kittens?”</p><p>            He shot her a look. “I knew we’d be drawing people, I just didn’t think they’d be nude.”</p><p>            Lucy pressed her lips together to suppress her laughter. She turned her attention back to her sketch pad and squinted at Frank, before placing graphite to paper and making a few careful strokes. “Well, you shouldn’t be too shocked by what you’re seeing. Unless there’s something you want to share…” she wiggled her eyebrows at Steve and he just rolled his eyes.</p><p>            “Get back to work, Cadet,” he mumbled, picking up one of his own pencils reluctantly.</p><p>            Lucy bristled a little at the moniker, but she did as she was told, making more soft strokes with her pencil. It didn’t take long for her to get lost in it, the lines and folds of the person in front of her, the light and shadows, the soft scraping of her deliberate sketching mingling the sounds of others creating and imagining. Before she knew it, Reina’s timer went off and she returned back to reality, blinking a few times and adjusting herself back into the room. She let out a deep breath and glanced at Steve again, and her jaw nearly hit the floor.</p><p>            “What the fuck, dude,” she breathed, taking in Steve’s sketch. She pulled her stool closer to his easel and admired his handiwork. It was like he just shrunk Frank and plastered him onto the page. The details were amazing, and Lucy wondered if the serum enhanced his artistic abilities or if this was purely Steve Rogers. She regarded her own sketch, which suddenly looked like a second grader drew it next to his. Steve noticed her chagrin and chuckled a little.</p><p>            “Yours looks awesome,” he offered, and she scoffed.</p><p>            “Okay, Michelangelo, no need to blow smoke up my ass,” she deadpanned.</p><p>            He tilted his head back and laughed, and despite her envy, something in Lucy’s chest fluttered at the sound, though she quickly squashed it down.</p><p>            “Does anyone want to present first?” Reina asked at the head of the room, picking up Frank’s robe and gently shaking him awake. He started, but quickly recovered, covering himself with the robe again. A few hands shot up, and Reina picked one of the other students to go first. After a couple of students went, Lucy nudged Steve.</p><p>            “You should go next,” she told him, nodding at his sketch.</p><p>            “No way,” Steve said, nudging her back.</p><p>            “Come on, you did so good,” Lucy whined, but he was already packing up his things and moving to close his book. “Seriously, you can fight an army of killer robots, but presenting in front of the class is where you draw the line?”</p><p>            He was about to retort when Reina stepped in, her hands on her hips. “What’s going on here?” she asked, tapping her foot.</p><p>            “Oh, Lucy was just telling me how badly she wanted to present,” Steve told her. He turned to Lucy with an all too innocent look on his face. “Go ahead. Don’t be shy.”</p><p>            Lucy glared at him. She was willing to cut her fist on that perfect jaw of his, but she was pretty sure decking Captain America was a federal offense.</p><p>            Reina smiled and beckoned her forward. “Come on down, Luc. Show us what you got.”</p><p>            Lucy internally groaned and picked up her sketchbook, making her way over to where Reina and Frank stood. She sighed and faced the others, squaring her shoulders and putting on her best game face. She shot Steve another quick dirty look before holding up her sketch.</p><p>            “Um, it’s nothing special,” she began. She winced and turned to Frank. “I mean, not that you’re not special, I just mean that, um, I didn’t do anything crazy this time around. I stayed pretty realistic. I rushed a little towards the top, but that’s only because I really liked drawing his legs. You have amazing legs, sir,” she directed at Frank, and he smiled sheepishly.</p><p>            “Well done, Luc,” Reina said, clapping her hands, and the rest of the class followed suit. “I hate to see you all go, but that’s all the time we have. I look forward to seeing you all bright and early next week.”</p><p>            Lucy made it back to her seat and packed up her things, Reina trailing not too far behind. Steve was just standing up, shrugging on his brown leather jacket and hanging his bag over his shoulder.</p><p>            “What do you think, Captain Rogers? Will you be joining us for another round?” Reina asked, beaming over at him.</p><p>            He returned her smile. “Please, call me Steve. And yes, I’ll be here, I enjoyed it. Thank you.”</p><p>            Reina waved him away. “I don’t do much, I just stand back and let the power of art take over. Maybe next time you won’t be so squeamish,” she said slyly, giving him a wink. He colored a bit, and she patted his chest consolingly. “See you guys next time.”</p><p>            They said their goodbyes, and Lucy and Steve headed toward the exit. Lucy panicked, not knowing what to say as she walked alongside him, but it wasn’t long before they were outside, the morning sun already picking up heat. Steve’s motorcycle was parked right in front of the studio and he got on, starting the ignition and flipping up the kickstand with his foot.</p><p>            “Nice bike,” Lucy said, for lack of anything better to say.</p><p>            Steve grinned. “Thanks, she’s reliable too.” He glanced around for a second and frowned. “Do you need a ride back, or…?”</p><p>            “Nope, I’m good. I like the walk, it’s not bad,” she assured him. “See you around, Cap.”</p><p>            “You know you can use my first name, too. I won’t tell anyone,” he smirked, and Lucy fought the urge to bite her lip.</p><p>            “I’ll think about it,” she said with a smirk of her own.</p><p>            He laughed and took a pair of aviators from his pocket and put them on. He revved the engine and gave her a small salute. “See you around, Lucy,” he said, and he sped of down the main road.</p><p>            Lucy let out a long sigh. That motherfucker was sexy, and he <em>knew</em> it.</p><p> </p><p>____________</p><p> </p><p>            Lucy hated lying to you, but the following Saturday, you had insisted on having some quality girl time and the two of you spent most of the night streaming movies and chatting about drama you weren’t involved in. She knew she would regret the late night when it came time to leave in the morning, but it had been nice spending time with you. Since you started dating Bucky, she saw less of you outside of drills and training, but she would never complain. You were happy, you deserved to be happy, and who was she to stand in the way of that?</p><p>            So when the early morning hours came, she told you that she had to at least get a couple of hours of sleep because she had an appointment with one of the supervisors. She could have just told you about the art classes; you wouldn’t judge her, but she liked having something to herself, something all her own. She had grown up with three other siblings, so privacy was a novelty that she planned on taking full advantage of in adulthood. Plus, there was that added little thrill, the one that tingled at the bottom of her stomach and threatened to ignite all of her nerve endings.</p><p>            Steve.</p><p>           There was no use in lying to herself too, so she readily acknowledged the fact that Reina’s chipper attitude wasn’t the only thing getting her out of bed after only two hours of sleep. She made her way on autopilot to the studio and made a beeline to the coffee maker when she got there, which was beautifully filled with dark, amber liquid gold. Reina was truly a godsend.</p><p>            Lucy settled down at her easel and unpacked her things. Their model for the morning was already there, a woman named Hilda who was bespeckled with freckles across her face and neck, and Lucy could only assume that they extended below her robe as well. Class was about to start, and Steve still wasn’t there. Disappointment started to creep up Lucy’s spine, and she tried to clear her mind by sharpening her pencils and sipping her coffee.</p><p>            “So happy you all could join me for a second week,” Reina said. She stood next to Hilda and introduced her again for those who came in a bit later. She set the timer and let Hilda drop her robe and strike a pose, something that looked mildly ballet-ish, and everyone began to draw.</p><p>            A few minutes later, there was a stir by the door, and Lucy saw Steve walk in, which was way more effective at waking her up than the coffee. He whispered apologetically to Reina and scooted past Hilda, taking his place next to Lucy and unpacking as quietly as he could. Lucy watched him out of the corner of her eye and didn’t bother fighting the grin that spread on her face. He began drawing and after a little while, Lucy turned her head to him fully and wasn’t surprised to see him tinged pink, though his face was impressively neutral.</p><p>            “You’re blushing, Cap,” she whispered over to him as she continued to work.</p><p>            “I’m fully aware, Lucy,” he whispered back, not taking his focus off of his pad.</p><p>            She huffed a small bit of laughter. “Geez, is that a flashlight in your pocket, or are you just happy to be here?”</p><p>            That made him look down at his lap sharply, and was relieved to find that nothing was…out of place. He sighed exasperatedly. “Lay off, will you?”</p><p>            “Alright, alright,” Lucy said in surrender. She looked at him again and decided to take some risk. “I thought you weren’t going to show up today.”</p><p>            His pencil paused for a moment before he continued, smirking at his drawing. “You were thinking about me?”</p><p>            Lucy rolled her eyes despite the jig her heart did. “Don’t flatter yourself, Rogers. I was referring to your prudish anxiety.”</p><p>            “I’m not a prude,” he sniffed. He made a few more strokes with his pencil before his blush deepened as he began working on Hilda’s bosom. “I’m just not that…<em>adventurous</em>,” he emphasized, as if the adjective somehow applied to her.</p><p>            Lucy regarded his profile for a moment, watching as his broad hands delicately maneuvered his pencil, the muscles in his forearms flexing and relaxing in a way that made her feel a bit unsavory. “I get that. I’m not that adventurous either,” she admitted, turning back to her own easel.</p><p>            His gaze shot over to her, his eyebrows knitted together and his mouth poised to say something, but he was interrupted by Reina’s timer. The usual students got up to explain their work, and Reina dismissed everyone with promises of homemade donuts to go with their coffee for the next class. Reina pulled Lucy into a conversation about her birth plan, and Lucy didn’t miss Steve leave out of the corner of her eye. Disappointment snaked through her again, but when she stepped outside after saying goodbye to Reina, she was surprised to find Steve sitting on his bike in front of the entrance.</p><p>            “Waiting for someone, Cap?” Lucy asked slyly, putting a hand on her hip.</p><p>            “Just wanted to give you another chance for a ride,” he said with a grin. Lucy was about to respond to that, but he caught the innuendo in time. “Don’t,” he warned, and she laughed, holding up her hands in surrender.</p><p>            “Thanks for the offer, but I’m good. See ya,” Lucy said, returning the salute he gave her last time and turning in the other direction.</p><p>            “Wait a sec,” he called out to her.</p><p>            She turned back to him and raised her eyebrows expectantly.</p><p>            “Isn’t the compound over this way?” he asked quizzically, jerking his thumb behind him down the main road.</p><p>            “Uh, yeah, but I have a hankering for some hash browns, and the diner down the street makes the best I’ve ever tasted,” Lucy said, jerking her own thumb in the direction she was going.</p><p>            “Oh,” Steve said simply. There was an awkward beat, another moment of indecision before Lucy broke the tension.</p><p>            “Do…you wanna come with me?” Lucy ventured.</p><p>            “Sure, why not,” he said, and she could have sworn there was some lift to his tone. He got off his bike and walked alongside her as they made their way down the street. Lucy grasped for conversation starters, anything to fill the silence, but thankfully Steve was the master of small talk. They chatted about the weather and the program, and what she wanted to do after graduation. Soon enough, they reached the diner, a small mom-and-pop establishment that didn’t even have a sign over it, though the menus had the name <em>Millie’s</em> printed in bold on the front of them. The diner was just beginning to fill up, and they found a booth in a cozy corner by the windows. They placed their orders pretty quickly, largely due to the fact that their waitress was a doting fan of the star-spangled man with a plan. She practically swooned her way back to the kitchen.</p><p>            Lucy bit back any snide remark she had about that, instead leaning forward a bit across the table and delving into some more risky territory. “So, tell me, Cap. How are you so good at art?”</p><p>            He chuckled a little as he took a sip of his plain, black coffee. “I had a lot of practice back in the day. It was just about the only activity that I could manage without launching into some sort of asthmatic episode.”</p><p>            “Gotcha, makes sense. But didn’t paint back then have, like, lead in it?”</p><p>            He laughed. “Probably. We did a bunch of not-so-smart things back then.”</p><p>            “Explains a lot,” Lucy muttered, and she was treated to a small kick in the shin under the table.</p><p>            Steve set down his coffee and leaned over the table too, just crossing the border of her personal space. If he noticed the way her breath faltered when he did that, he didn’t let on. “What about you? You said art is ‘your thing’. How’d that happen?”</p><p>            Lucy felt the need to lean back against her seat, feeling that exposed vulnerability again. “It’s kind of corny.”</p><p>            “Try me. Dig deep, bare your soul,” he said, a devilish glint in his cerulean eyes as he echoed Reina’s sentiments.</p><p>            Lucy rolled her eyes, but there was a sheepish grin on her face. “You’re totally allowed to laugh, by the way,” she took a deep breath and studied her hands. “My big brother is color blind. When I was little, I thought if I drew him enough pictures, he would be able to see all the colors again. After that, it just kind of stuck.” She peeked up at him through her eyelashes, and he had a soft expression on his face, mingled with surprise.</p><p>            “That’s really sweet,” Steve said softly.</p><p>            She groaned. “Sure, if that’s what you want to call it. My parents figured I would go into some sort of artistic career since I also did a bit of theatre too. I was Juliet for two years in a row in high school. Not to brag,” Lucy said, and he laughed again. She felt a kind of rush telling him all of that. It wasn’t something she did often, and she couldn’t figure out what about him made her want to divulge such personal details.</p><p>            “Why didn’t you stick with it? Being an agent is a far cry from being an artist,” he asked, taking another sip of coffee.</p><p>            Lucy could feel heat rise up her neck and onto her cheeks. She picked up her spoon and swirled it around her own mug, even though the sugar she had put in it was long dissolved. “That’s even cornier,” she said, but he only waited expectantly. “It’s because of you, actually,” she let out in one breath, and his eyebrows shot up. “And my grandpa. He served in the war, but I don’t think you ever ran into him. When I was in middle school, I was obsessed with World War II history because of him, and I read a bunch of books on it. A lot of them mentioned you, of course, and I dunno…” she trailed off to find the right words. “You were small and unassuming, but you had all of this courage and drive to do the right thing, even if people didn’t think you could do it. I always felt small and unassuming growing up, but I figured if you did it, then I could try and make the world a better place, too.”</p><p>            She waited for a reaction, but all he could do was stare with an intensity behind his pupils that left her feeling a bit heady. He didn’t know what to say, even though his brain was clawing for something, anything. That was something he would never get used to, hearing countless stories of how he inspired people, countless accounts of people making big life decisions because somehow, his own story made people want to upend their lives and take big risks. He was just getting his thoughts together when the waitress returned with their food, and the moment seemed to pass, almost tragically.</p><p>            “Try the hash first,” Lucy said excitedly, picking up a forkful, glad for the change of subject. “It’s to die for, I don’t know how people prepare potatoes any other way.”</p><p>            Steve did as he was told, and he had to admit; that hash was damn good. They spent a while in silence, surrounded by the usual din of the diner as it got busier, savoring the hearty, stick-to-your-ribs breakfast that no big food chain could replicate. There was something else Steve wanted to broach, though, and after swallowing a bite of the fluffiest scrambled eggs he ever had, he cleared his throat and dove in.</p><p>            “What did you mean earlier, when you said you weren’t adventurous?” he asked tentatively.</p><p>            She frowned, unsure of what he was referring to, but recognition crossed her face. “That depends on what you mean by ‘adventurous’,” she said with a smirk that told him she knew exactly what he meant. She just wanted to hear him say it.</p><p>            “Well, uh, I just meant that I—me, personally—am not that…open. Sexually,” he said, cringing enough for the both of them.</p><p>            She chuckled and wiped at her mouth before squinting at him. “Was Hilda the first naked woman you’ve seen since 1944?”</p><p>            “No,” he said a little too firmly. Honestly, he had nothing to prove, but he still felt a little defensive for some reason. “There have been others…one other.”</p><p>            Lucy nodded and took a slow sip of her coffee. “Well, then you’re more adventurous than me. I’m a virgin,” she said easily, taking another bite of hash. The look on his face must have been hilariously shocked because she tilted her head back and barked out a laugh. “You’re wondering why I talk such big game for someone who has never seen a man naked outside of art class,” she said for him.</p><p>            Steve laughed despite himself. “Lucy, you got some ‘splainin to do,” he said in what could only be described as a really, really, terrible impression of Ricky Ricardo.</p><p>            Lucy only laughed harder and clapped her hands together. “Wow, old as dirt, but you can still make pop culture references. Color me impressed, though I do not have the pleasure of being named after the great Lucille Ball,” she said. She shrugged before continuing. “I dunno, I guess I’m just a firm believer that you can still be confident in your sexuality even if you’ve never had sex,” she explained.</p><p>            Steve mulled that over for a moment. “I can agree with that,” he said thoughtfully.</p><p>            “Plus, I just really like making you uncomfortable,” Lucy added cheekily.</p><p>            Steve just glared at her and stole the last bit of hash on her plate, which earned him two kicks to the shin. They finished everything up and despite Lucy’s protests, Steve took care of the bill. They strolled back to where Steve’s bike waited, Lucy trying to pull out more information from him since she had shared so much. When they got there, Steve started the engine and Lucy stood watching, shuffling nervously.</p><p>            “Thanks for breakfast, again. I’ll see you around,” Lucy said with a small wave.</p><p>            Steve shot her a look. “Lucy. Get on the bike.”</p><p>            She considered denying his offer again, make up some excuse about walking off the calories, but she found herself swinging her leg over the bike in back of him, placing her hands steadily on his waist. He gave her a satisfied nod and guided the bike down the road, before turning onto the small highway that led to the compound. He gradually picked up speed, and Lucy was tempted to close her eyes and lift up her hands like she was about to take flight with the wind zipping through her hair. Instead, she slid her hands around his waist further, until they intertwined just below his chest, and she pressed herself lightly against his back. It was bold, she worried for a second that she was crossing some sort of line, but she felt one of his hands lay over hers and give them a brief squeeze before returning to the handles as if he was grounding her, as if he was reminding her that he was right there. It only took a few minutes to get back on the grounds, and he parked the bike in one of the garages reserved for the team and their vehicles. He got off first, and like the true gentleman that he was, he offered his hand to help her get off, which she accepted despite the eye roll she gave him.</p><p>            “Until next time, Cap,” Lucy said with a nod and a small salute, which was becoming a habit when it came to him.</p><p>            “Still not gonna call me Steve?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.</p><p>            “Still thinking about it,” she replied coyly. She turned to walk out of the garage but he stopped her. He frowned, looking suddenly nervous, but he finally had his thoughts in array.</p><p>            “For what it’s worth, I think you’ll be a great agent,” he said seriously, his voice heavy and low. “The program is lucky to have you. And Y/N,” he rushed to add for some reason.</p><p>            “We are quite the pair. Kind of like you and Barnes, but better,” she claimed confidently, and he laughed.</p><p>            “You know, Bucky warned me about your smart mouth,” Steve said with a raised eyebrow.</p><p>            “Oh, Bucky doesn’t know half the things this mouth is capable of,” she said with a smirk, and Steve had to look down at his shoes.</p><p>            They said their final goodbyes and Lucy made her way back to your shared room. You were already there when she walked in, just stepping out of the shower, wrapped in a towel.</p><p>            “Hey, how’d the meeting go?” you asked her, rummaging in your drawers for some lazy Sunday sweats to wear.</p><p>            “It went great,” Lucy told you, trying to control the strain in her voice. She was aching to tell you about everything; the classes, the diner, Steve, but she stopped herself. She knew that saying it out loud would make it real, too real, and she was sure that whatever was blossoming between her and your boyfriend’s best friend would end once Reina’s timer went off for the last time.</p><p> </p><p>_________</p><p> </p><p>            You were stuck in bed with food poisoning. It was a Friday, and you had to let your supervisors know that you couldn’t participate in training that day. It wasn’t a big deal though; although it was technically a training day, it was unofficial. There was a Friday reserved every spring semester for the annual Field Day, where cadets were able to let loose while still participating in fun activities that tested their abilities. It was a glorified fair, a little treat from the Organization for all the hard work they put in (and all the bullets they managed to dodge).</p><p>            You were pissed that you were going to miss it. You had been looking forward to annihilating everyone at flag football, but some wayward sushi from a new place you and Bucky had tried knocked you down.</p><p>            “Don’t have too much fun without me,” you called out to Lucy weakly as Bucky led you from the bathroom back to your bed after your latest puke session.</p><p>            “I can’t make any promises,” Lucy said cheekily, lacing up her sneakers.</p><p>            “Fuck you,” you whispered as you settled against Bucky’s chest, and he laughed.</p><p>            Lucy went to sit at the edge of your bed and rubbed your leg consolingly, though she didn’t look particularly sorry for you. Her eyes flickered between you and Bucky, and she placed a hand on her hip. “Are you sure you’re not knocked up?”</p><p>            Bucky looked down at you with wide eyes and furrowed brows, mistaking your exasperated pause for uncertainty, but you managed to shake your head. “I’m not,” you assured him, glaring at Lucy.</p><p>            She shrugged. “As long as you name the first one after me, I don’t care,” she said, hopping up from your bed and prancing to the door. She looked back and pointed a finger at Bucky. “Take care of our girl,” she admonished him.</p><p>            “Yes ma’am,” Bucky said firmly, planting a tender kiss to the crown of your head.</p><p>            With that Lucy made the trek down to the athletics field where most of the cadets were already congregated. Everything had been set up for days by now; there was an obstacle course that included real chop-off-your-arm lasers, a rock climbing wall that included surprise avalanches at random intervals, a shooting range with actual firearms, and a go-kart track that spanned the entire perimeter. The food trucks were there too, and Lucy could already smell the funnel cakes and candied apples.</p><p>            It didn’t take long for her to find Nicole and the few other cadets that both of you hung out with. They were already digging into chili-cheese fries at the picnic tables when she found them by the trucks, and they made a game plan for all the activities they wanted to participate in. An announcement was made that flag football was going to begin in a few minutes, and a flood of cadets hustled to the field, grabbing red or blue flags to hang off of their waists. Lucy and Nicole chose a spot to stretch before the game, bending and twisting their limbs to loosen them up.</p><p>            “Look, Captain Panty-Dropper is here,” Nicole said as she stretched her quads, nodding towards a point across the large field. Lucy followed her gaze and her pulse sped up when her eyes landed on Steve.  </p><p>            He was standing off to the side with Sam Wilson and a couple of the supervisors. He was wearing those damn aviators again, so she couldn’t see his eyes, but he did seem to be scanning the crowd, glancing over the cadets on the field in between conversation with the other men with him. Lucy saw Sam say something close to Steve’s ear, and he laughed. She couldn’t hear it from where she was, but her heart jumped nonetheless, having committed the sound to memory over the course of the past few weeks.</p><p>            It was jarring, seeing him within the four corners of the compound. It was like she only understood him within the context of Esopus, their little quiet corner of the world. Since that first time they went to the diner after class, it had become a little tradition for them. They’d make it through class without Steve bursting into flames at the quandary of seeing strangers in the nude, and they’d stroll over to the diner where they talked, and talked, and talked. There was something about him that made Lucy just spill everything, all the funny, embarrassing, ugly, and beautiful details of her childhood, all her hopes and ambitions. They rolled off her tongue, and he just took it all in stride, nodding, and laughing, and coaxing more out of her. He shared things with her too, anecdotes about Bucky and his sisters, his mother Sarah, and even what he remembered of his father, and she accepted it all, folding all those little tidbits into herself and holding them close, like she was scared to lose them.</p><p>            Lucy watched as he scanned the crowd again, stuffing his hands into his pockets and bouncing on his feet a little. She had a passing thought that maybe he was looking for her, but she squashed it down. That Sunday would be their final class, and Lucy was trying to ween herself off of Steve Rogers. Maybe out there they were friends, but within the confines of the compound they were meagerly connected by you and Bucky, and nothing more. That’s why she didn’t bother telling you anything about the art classes, and she knew Steve never mentioned anything either because Bucky wouldn’t have kept his mouth shut. After Sunday, she would go back to being his best friend’s girlfriend’s roommate, and he would just be Captain Rogers. The majority of Lucy was okay with that, but the other part of her, the one that threatened to unravel, wanted more.</p><p>             But that was never going to happen.</p><p>            Nicole went off to snag some water bottles for the two of them, and Lucy stayed where she was, continuing to stretch. She was lost in her thoughts about Steve, so lost in what would come next with him, that she barely heard the track barrier break, or the panicked shouts. She turned, finally, to the source of the commotion, only to find a go-kart barreling towards her. It was like time slowed down; she could see it coming, but she was paralyzed with shock, her leg still stretched up behind her. Even in that state, she knew that based on its speed and trajectory, she wouldn’t have enough time to move out of the way.</p><p>          This was it. This is how she would go out, not a bullet, not a mission, not an explosion.</p><p>          A damn go-kart.</p><p>         Just as she was closing her eyes and bracing for impact, something else slammed into her, something decidedly less lethal than the go-kart, but it knocked the wind out of her all the same. Lucy could feel the small vehicle whizz past, just barely missing her and whatever weight was on top of her. She groaned out a breath, and the weight shifted over her, enough that she could look up and stare right into the sky blue eyes of the man who had distracted her in the first place.</p><p>            Steve’s eyebrows were knit together and he was breathing hard, his hand reaching up and cupping the side of Lucy’s face.</p><p>            “Are you okay?” he asked breathlessly. He was waiting for an answer but she couldn’t give him one. Whether it was because of the near-death experience or the fact that her body was pinned under Captain America (something she had thought only happened in dreams), she couldn’t formulate a single coherent thought.</p><p>            “Truelove! Talk to me, Truelove,” she heard Agent Powell, one of her supervisors, shout as he rushed over. Steve lifted himself off of her and carefully pulled her into a seated position as Powell crouched in front of her. “Hey, look at me. You okay?”</p><p>            Lucy took a shaky breath and let it out slowly. “Yeah, I’m fine. Thank you,” she said looking over at Steve. The corners of his mouth upturned slightly, but the concern didn’t leave his face.</p><p>            “You should head down to the med bay,” Powell said as a small crowd appeared around them. He was about to speak into his comms, but Lucy stopped him.</p><p>            “No, I’m okay, really,” she said. She pushed herself up, careful not to wince at the soreness she felt in her chest and rear, Steve hovering not too far away. “I can feel all my fingers and toes, and my head doesn’t hurt. I’m good.”</p><p>            “You should still go,” Steve said, his voice low and stern. Lucy almost swayed on her feet at the sound of it, but she managed to keep her composure.</p><p>            “Really, Captain Rogers, I’m good. Thank you again,” she insisted but he didn’t look convinced.</p><p>            “At least let one of the medics examine you,” Powell said, gesturing to the small booth across the field. She could make out what looked like the driver of the go-kart already there, seemingly unharmed.</p><p>            She looked over at Steve and almost laughed at the distressed expression on his face. “Fine, okay,” she conceded, and she was almost ashamed at the way her heart soared when the wrinkle between his brows disappeared.</p><p>            “I’ll take her,” Steve said to Powell. He gently placed his hand on the small of Lucy’s back and guided her over to the booth, both of them walking in unsure silence for half of the trip. It was Steve that broke it first.</p><p>            “So…your last name is <em>Truelove</em>?” he inquired, looking down at her with a small grin and an upturned eyebrow.</p><p>            Lucy sighed and chuckled, again hiding the bit of pain that rolled through her at the movement. “Yes, spelled exactly like it sounds, too. I’ve always hated it.”</p><p>            “You hate it? That’s probably the greatest last name I’ve ever heard,” Steve said incredulously.</p><p>            “Please tell that to kids I went to elementary school with,” Lucy said plainly. “I feel like it should be a name that’s hard to make fun of, but they found a way.”</p><p>            Steve hummed knowingly, remembering his own elementary school troubles. And middle school. And high school. “Lucy Truelove,” he mused quietly. “I dunno, I think it’d be pretty easy to fall in love with a name like that,” he said, chuckling to himself as if he made a clever joke.</p><p>            And maybe he was joking, but that didn’t stop Lucy from taking in a sharp inhale, and this time, she couldn’t hide the slight discomfort, pausing and releasing a soft grunt as she squeezed her eyes shut.</p><p>            “You’re going to the med bay,” Steve said in that low and firm (and freaking sexy) tone, guiding her towards the building. She tried to protest, but he didn’t want to hear it. “I’ll haul you over my shoulder if I have to,” he warned.</p><p>            As much as Lucy really wanted that to happen, she let him take her to the med bay without resistance, savoring the feel of his warm and broad hand on her back. As they were walking in, Bucky was headed out and he looked surprised to see them. They both stiffened with the vague feeling they were caught in a lie, mixing with guilt about what they were keeping from their friends, even though neither of them could name exactly what that was. Thankfully, Bucky seemed none the wiser, carrying a pill bottle and a small rectangular box, looking at Lucy with concern that matched Steve’s.</p><p>            “Everything okay?” he asked frowning, his eyes taking stock of any possible injuries on her.  </p><p>            “Yeah, I’m okay, but Captain Worry Wart wanted me to get checked out, just in case,” Lucy answered with an eye roll. “What you got there?” Lucy nodded over at the things in Bucky’s hand, desperate to pull the attention away from her and Steve. Bucky shifted nervously, tucking the box discreetly under his arm and holding out the pill bottle.</p><p>            “Just some medicine for our girl,” he said, his voice wavering a bit.</p><p>            Lucy was tempted to press him, but she didn’t, grateful that he seemed preoccupied with whatever else was on his mind (and in that box). Steve asked after you, and Bucky updated him on your condition before turning to head back.</p><p>            “Feel better, Luc,” Bucky said, ruffling her hair a bit.</p><p>            “See ya, Bucky,” she said, flipping him the bird, and he laughed.</p><p>            Lucy and Steve continued into the med bay, and she sat down in one of the waiting room chairs while he signed her in at the front desk. When he joined her a few moments later, he twisted in his chair to face her with his eyes narrowed and his lips pursed.</p><p>            “What?” she asked, sliding her gaze to him from the corner of her eyes.</p><p>            “You call Bucky by his nickname, but you won’t call me Steve,” he said accusingly.</p><p>            Lucy grinned and faced him. “That’s because I like Bucky.”</p><p>            Steve’s eyebrows nearly met his hairline. “And you don’t like me?”</p><p>            She leaned in closer to him, and she could smell the woodsy scent of the cologne he had on. She ignored the way her legs pressed together and looked him right in the eye. “Do you want me to like you, Captain Rogers?”</p><p>            He looked at her for a long moment, wondering what her reaction would be if he reached up and brushed the back of his hand against her cheek. “I’ll think about it,” he said, a slow smile invading his face.</p><p>            “Good,” Lucy said, trying and failing to tear her eyes away from his.</p><p>            Suddenly, she couldn’t even remember the pain that brought them there in the first place.</p><p> </p><p>_____________</p><p> </p><p>            “Alright everyone, our model is running a bit late, but that just means I get to make my end-of-class spiel now instead of later,” Reina said, standing next to the small chaise lounge chair in the center of the room. She rubbed her belly and Lucy silently hoped she wouldn’t have to put her birth training to use this particular Sunday morning.</p><p>            Steve chuckled to himself softly and looked over at Lucy. She was organizing her pencils, her usually pulled back hair obscuring her face as it fell in golden waves past her shoulders. It was always in a ponytail when he saw her, and he never realized how long it was until now. He was tempted to reach out and let his fingers dance in it, but his little fantasy was interrupted when she brushed it away from her face and glanced up at him. She gave him a small smile, and he smiled back, his chest feeling a bit tight. This was their last class together, and Steve didn’t want it to end. Sunday mornings had become his favorite part of the week. Sneaking out here and spending time with Lucy gave him a rush, one that rivaled the adrenaline he felt course through him during every mission. He wanted their Sunday mornings to stretch on, wanted to see her on other days of the week, but he wasn’t sure if she wanted the same thing. She was so fun, and ridiculous, and confident, a blazing light that could light up the night sky. He was beige and plain, like a pair of khakis, and he doubted she saw him as anything more than her best friend’s boyfriend’s squeamish teammate.     </p><p>            “It’s been such a pleasure guiding all of you through your artistic process, and discovering yourselves through--” a shrill tone emitted from Reina’s phone, and she squinted down at it. “Fuck,” she muttered. She covered her mouth and patted her belly. “Don’t listen to what mama just said,” she whispered to the bump. She sighed and looked up at the class dejectedly. “Well, I hate to break it to you guys, but we officially don’t have a model for this class. Apparently his grandmother is sick. Balls,” she muttered, and the class laughed. “I think I have some vases and fake fruit we can draw,” she mused, headed toward the supply closet in the far corner of the room, but she was interrupted by Lucy’s raised hand.</p><p>            “Yes, Luc,” Reina prompted, pausing to look at her.</p><p>            “Um,” Lucy began nervously, as if she weren’t sure what was going to come out of her mouth. “I mean, I can model today.”</p><p>            An involuntary sound slipped from the back of Steve’s throat, and he tried to pass it off by coughing a couple of times. He looked over at Lucy again, sure that this was one of her many off-color jokes, but she looked genuine as she stared at Reina.</p><p>            “Oh, Lucy, you don’t have to do that,” Reina said, though she said it in an overly polite way, like she had wanted to say yes right away, but social conventions didn’t let her.</p><p>            Lucy shrugged. “I don’t mind, really. Unless you guys actually want to draw fake fruit,” she said, addressing the rest of the class. A few of the other students grumbled their assent, and she turned to look at Reina.</p><p>            “Oh, thank goodness,” Reina said with relief. “You just saved this whole class, Luc. I owe you one,” she beamed, and Lucy smiled back widely. Reina rushed as fast as she could to the closet and pulled out a clean black robe, handing it to Lucy with a few more thank you’s. “You can change in the bathroom. Feel free to leave your undergarments on, no pressure,” she said. “Are you sure this is okay?”</p><p>            Lucy stood and nodded. “Yeah. Anything I can do for the artistic process,” she said in a bit of a mocking tone, and Reina laughed and shooed her away.</p><p>            Steve felt like he was going to explode. The room suddenly felt too hot, and he could have sworn he had the beginnings of an asthma attack, even though he knew that wasn’t possible. He tried to calm himself down by sharpening his pencils. <em>It’s okay. This is okay. You’ve been drawing naked people for the past month and a half, this is no different,</em> he assured himself. He kept repeating that in his mind, and he could feel his heart slow, but all of that went out of the window when Lucy emerged again in her black robe, the hem of it just falling to the middle of her thighs.</p><p>            <em>You’ve gotta be shitting me</em>, Steve thought, swallowing hard.</p><p>            “Everyone give Lucy a round of applause,” Reina exclaimed as she met her at the chaise, giving Lucy’s shoulder an encouraging squeeze. The class did just that, and Lucy bowed with grandeur, earning a round of laughter from the rest of the students (except for Steve, who was still having an existential episode).</p><p>            “Whenever you’re ready,” Reina said to Lucy, gesturing to the chair and moving to her easel.</p><p>            “You guys better do a good job,” Lucy muttered as she undid the belt of the robe, and the class laughed some more. With a deep sigh, Lucy undid the robe completely and let it fall to the floor. She looked down at the chaise, seemingly deciding how she wanted to sit before carefully lowering herself onto it. She let her back rest against it, outstretching her legs, and bending one of her knees slightly off the cushion. She placed one of her arms on her thigh while the other hung lazily off the side of the chair.</p><p>            Steve breathlessly gazed at her while the sound of the others beginning to draw filled the room. He couldn’t help but feel awestruck by the graceful way she posed on the couch. It was completely effortless, natural, like they had all stepped in on a private moment. Steve knew that part of the dogma of being an agent in the program was that a candidate had to have superior control of their body, and it was clear that Lucy had just that, sitting incredibly still, yet not looking tense in the least.  </p><p>           She kept her eyes down on her lap, but she didn’t seem embarrassed at all, just peaceful and determined to carry out this duty she set before herself. He thought back to what she had said at the diner that first time, about being comfortable in her sexuality, and he marveled at the amount of confidence she had in her own skin. He was almost jealous of it.  </p><p>            Something heavy hit the floor, and the thud it made was enough to shake Steve out of his trance. He shook his head a bit, just to reset his mind, and placed his pencil to the page, willing his hands to stay steady as he made stroke after stroke. Too soon, Reina’s timer went off, and Lucy got up, gathering up the robe and draping it over herself again. Somehow, it was even harder looking at her clothed again, and Steve busied himself packing up his supplies while a couple of people presented their finished products.</p><p>            “I don’t think so, Cap,” Lucy said when she walked up to him after Reina finally made her rousing speech. She held out her hand for his sketchbook, which was already closed. “I wanna see.”</p><p>            Steve hesitated, his tongue feeling heavy, and he cursed the heat that fanned over his face and colored the tips of his ears.</p><p>            Lucy crossed her arms and smirked at him. “You’re really not gonna let me see the picture you drew? Of <em>me</em>?”</p><p>            Steve managed to grin back and reluctantly opened his book again, flipping over to the sketch he just made. He handed it over, and she took it gleefully, her eyes scanning over the page. Soon, though, her grin dissolved, and her expression became unreadable as she continued to examine his work. His hands grew clammy, wondering if maybe she hated it, but she looked up at him and smiled.</p><p>            “It’s nice,” she said simply.</p><p>            He raised an eyebrow at her. “Just nice?”</p><p>            She laughed sheepishly. “Considering it’s a drawing of myself, I didn’t want to be too gratuitous with the praise. But it’s beautifully drawn, Rogers. Nice job.”</p><p>            “Well, it helps to have a beautiful subject,” Steve said, feeling a random surge of boldness.</p><p>            She stared up at him, searching his face for something, and he wasn’t sure if she found what she was looking for. She finally flashed him a mischievous grin. “That’s a really sweet way of saying you’ll be jerking off to this later.”</p><p>            Steve groaned and had to face away from her, sliding a hand over his face and waiting out the massive blush that bloomed over him. Lucy laughed heartily, closing his book and placing it on his stool. She patted his shoulder consolingly.</p><p>            “I’ll be out in a sec,” she assured him, disappearing back into the bathroom.</p><p>             She emerged not too long after, fully clothed, and she gathered her things from her station and the two of them headed out.</p><p>            “I hope the two of you come back soon, at least when I come back from leave,” Reina said, patting her belly lightly. Lucy went over and gave her a hug, and Steve did the same.</p><p>            “I don’t think this will be the last you’ll see of us,” Steve said, glancing over at Lucy, but she didn’t meet his gaze. She bent down and narrowed her eyes at Reina’s belly.</p><p>            “Behave yourself, or Aunt Lucy is coming for you,” she warned the little thing growing in there. She gave it a reassuring pat before giving Reina another hug and thanking her for another great class.</p><p>            Lucy and Steve made their way out into the balmy Esopus morning, heading straight for his bike and wordlessly getting on. They somehow decided that they’d skip the diner this time, silently agreeing not to prolong what felt like a goodbye. As they sped along back to the compound, Lucy closed her eyes and sighed into Steve’s back, memorizing the feel of him in her arms. They arrived in no time, and there was an unsure awkwardness that fell over them as they prepared to leave each other.</p><p>            “Well…see you around Cap,” Lucy said with a small wave and an even smaller grin.</p><p>            Steve nodded at her, the tightness in his chest getting worse. “Bye, Lucy. I’m sure Y/N will drag us on plenty more excursions,” he said, and they both chuckled softly. Lucy waved again and he watched as she turned to leave the garage. Panic gripped him, and he fumbled for anything that would make her stay just a little while longer. “Lucy?” he called out to her.</p><p>            She turned back to him, but maintained the distance between them. “Yeah?”</p><p>            “Who are you named after?” he asked, and she frowned a little. He looked down at his shoes for a moment before looking back at her. “You said that you weren’t named after Lucille Ball, so who are you named after?” That wasn’t really what he wanted to ask her, but it was good enough. He really wanted to ask her if he would see her again, before any more awkward brunches with you and Bucky, if there was a part of her that wanted the same things he did, but he didn’t dare give voice to that.</p><p>            She smiled and nodded, remembering that diner conversation. “Not <em>who,</em> but <em>what.</em> Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds,” she said, and it was his turn to frown. “Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band?” she prompted, but he still frowned. “If you don’t know the Beatles, you’re officially a lost cause,” she told him playfully.</p><p>            “Oh, yeah, no, I know them,” he promised. “I just might have missed a song or two.”</p><p>            “It’s always been my dad’s favorite song,” Lucy explained further. “He jumped at the chance to name his first daughter Lucy,” she said, rolling her eyes. “It is a pretty good song though.”</p><p>            Steve chuckled softly. “I’ll be sure to give it a listen.”</p><p>            Lucy nodded shyly and started backing towards the exit. She waved again and turned, making it a few yards before she turned back to him.</p><p>            “Steve?”</p><p>            He looked up at her, startled by the sound of his first name coming from her, wishing he could hear it a thousand more times. “Yeah?”</p><p>            She stared at him, wrestling with herself before giving him one last smirk. “Are you a righty or a lefty?” she asked, jerking her hand in an obscene motion.</p><p>            “Get out of here, Luc,” he said exasperatedly, though there was a smile on his lips.</p><p>            She laughed and finally made her way out of the garage. She walked along the path that led back to the dorms, breathing in the fresh spring air and trying to ignore the knots in her stomach. That’s not what she really wanted to ask him. She wanted to ask if he really thought she was beautiful. She wanted to ask him which part of her he liked drawing the most, if he wanted to place his hands there and explore the feel of her skin against his. She wanted to let him know that she’d probably let him touch her forever—</p><p>            She stopped walking, pinching the bridge of her nose. She had to stop thinking that way. What happened with you and Bucky was a one-time thing. There was no chance it would happen with her. Steve Rogers was out of her reach; he probably had countless options, countless women knocking down his door, and there was no way he’d even consider someone as loud and lewd as her. She sighed and trudged along, dragging her feet back to the room where you were, reading on your bed.</p><p>            “Up for another girl’s night?” you asked when she walked in.</p><p>            Lucy managed to give you a grin and a nod. “That would be extremely helpful right about now,” she said, dropping her bag and heading into the bathroom.</p><p>            You frowned after her, wondering what she meant by that, but when she came out again, she was already rattling off a list of movies the two of you should watch, most of them horror films (because they were the farthest thing from anything even remotely romantic).</p><p>            Meanwhile, across the compound, Steve sat down on his couch with a deep sigh, running both hands through his hair.</p><p>            “Friday,” he said after a while. “Can you play Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds?”</p><p>            “Sure thing, Captain Handsome,” she responded, and he groaned at the nickname Tony programmed for her to use, knowing he wouldn’t know how to change it. A synthesized rhythm filled his suite and he rested his head against the back of his couch, letting it lull him back to mornings at a small diner, with the girl who had love in her name.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Picture yourself in a boat on a river<br/>
With tangerine trees and marmalade skies<br/>
Somebody calls you, you answer quite slowly<br/>
A girl with kaleidoscope eyes</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Cellophane flowers of yellow and green<br/>
Towering over your head<br/>
Look for the girl with the sun in her eyes<br/>
<br/>
</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>And she's gone</em>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. The Lake House</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I've been horribly neglecting my WIP, but I really wanted to add this chapter. I wasn't expecting anyone to care about Lucy/Steve like I do, so thanks so much for reading, loll. If you have any requests for these two or Bucky/Reader, let me know in the comments below! I'll try my best to get them out in a timely fashion, but they can very well end up being 17k word monsters like this one, loll so be patient with me &lt;3</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>             </p><p> </p><p>             “Oh hey, Rookie, long time no see,” Natasha drawled sarcastically after a yawn, making her way to the coffee maker and pouring herself a mug. She made her way to the table where you, Steve, and Bucky were sitting, taking survey of the breakfast that was delivered not long ago.</p><p>            “Morning, Nat,” you said to her with a smile, which she returned. You still couldn’t quite believe that you had reached the point where you were allowed to call the most badass agent on the planet by her nickname, but it was just one of the many things that you had gotten used to since being with Bucky. Hell, Thor even let you call him Point Break, but Bucky claimed that was only because the Asgardian had a crush on you (and you had to admit, seeing Bucky a little jealous was way more adorable than it should have been).</p><p>            “I mean, I am honestly surprised to see you,” she continued, picking up a muffin and breaking off a piece. “Isn’t that lake house thing this weekend?” she asked, popping the piece of muffin into her mouth.</p><p>            She was talking about the spring break trip that the cadets went on almost every year. Instead of Miami or Cancun (too many civilians), every year, the cadets traveled up to the sprawling lakeside mansion that Tony ‘donated’ to the cause, him being a fan of letting the fledgling agents let their freak flags fly. Not every cadet chose to go, and you were one of them, electing to spend your spring break blissfully holed up in Bucky’s room.</p><p>            “Oh, no I’m skipping that. I have better ways of spending my break,” you informed her, leaning over and leaving a light kiss on Bucky’s shoulder, breathing in the cozy scent of his t-shirt. Nat snorted at the gesture, but her grin widened. She was a romantic at heart, but if anyone ever called her on it, their face would appear on milk cartons in no time.</p><p>            “My roommate is going, though,” you continued, putting another Danish on your plate, and if you noticed the way Steve gripped his newspaper a bit tighter, you didn’t let on.</p><p>            Nat chuckled. “Did she bring a pack of condoms?” she asked dryly, and you laughed, which was interrupted by the sound of Steve’s newspaper shredding in half. The rest of you glanced over at him, and he tried his best to keep his composure.</p><p>            “Condoms?” he directed at Nat, his voice wavering a bit.</p><p>            She smirked over at him “Yes, Steven. They’re these little plastic sleeves that you put over your--” she began but he glared at her.</p><p>            “I know what condoms are, Nat. Why would Lu—her roommate need them?” he asked, straining to keep up what he hoped was a casual tone.</p><p>            “Oh, punk,” Bucky chimed in, reaching over and patting Steve on the back. “I think you’re still too wet behind the ears to hear about what goes on during those lake house trips,” he said consolingly, which earned him a glare too. That was another reason why you elected to stay behind; you had heard the lake house was just as bad any Olympic village, and you wanted no part of the shenanigans.</p><p>            “Why are you so interested in knowing anyway, Steve?” Nat said, her grin only growing more impish. She grabbed a bagel and started spreading cream cheese on it. “Could it be because your little <em>friend</em> is going this weekend?”</p><p>            You and Bucky looked sharply over at Steve, whose face began to shade in red.</p><p>            “Romanoff,” he said, his voice low and dangerous, but Nat just rolled her eyes.</p><p>            “Please, you know the Cap voice doesn’t work on me,” she said, taking a bite of her bagel with a shrug.</p><p>            “There’s a friend, and I didn’t know about it?” Bucky said, his face still deciding whether he was hurt or amused.</p><p>            Steve opened his mouth, probably to deny it, but Nat beat him to it. “Yeah, I caught them once, sneaking back onto the grounds early in the morning on his bike,” she reported, ignoring Steve’s glare some more.</p><p>            “Ooh, is she a cadet?” you asked excitedly, not even bothering to address Steve.</p><p>            Nat nodded. “She cute, too. And blonde. He refuses to ask her out or even tell me her name,” she said, rolling her eyes, and Bucky groaned knowingly, all too familiar with his friend’s reluctance when it came to the opposite sex. “He’s absolutely smitten though. You should hear him talk about her.”</p><p>            You laughed and looked over at Steve. “Cap, I know all the girls in our class, I can hook you up,” you said determinedly. He looked like he wanted to say something, but you didn’t give him the chance. “If she’s blonde, that narrows it down to four of them: Christi, Lana, Shana, and Merida. It’s Merida, isn’t it? She’s not a natural blonde, but she’s a fun time,” you said, already planning what you were going to say to her.</p><p>            Steve was quiet, looking down at his coffee, a wrinkle between his brows. “There are five,” he said quietly after a moment.</p><p>            You frowned. “Oh, yeah, I didn’t count Lucy because…” you trailed off when he looked up at you, and you could see it splashed across his face, clear as day. You blinked a few times, allowing your brain to catch up.</p><p>            “Wait a minute. It’s Lucy?!” you screeched and Steve winced.</p><p>            “Yeah,” Steve confirmed tightly, silently vowing never to take another sip of Asgardian ale. It made him way too chatty, something Nat took full advantage of.</p><p>            A thousand thoughts raced through your mind, all of them jumbled and crashing into one another. How the hell did you not know about this? You didn’t think it would have been physically possible for Lucy to keep something like this from you. True, you had noticed a slight change in her behavior these past few weeks. She had seemed a little down, but you didn’t want to push it, knowing that she would eventually break and talk to about it. It never came up though, and now you felt like such a horrible friend. You turned to Bucky accusingly.</p><p>            “Did you know about this?” you demanded, but Bucky held up his hands innocently.</p><p>            “I swear I didn’t. Though, I might have missed some signs,” Bucky admitted sheepishly, and you let out a frustrated huff of air.</p><p>            You curled and uncurled your fists in an attempt to calm down, but it wasn’t working all that well. “Cap, you’ve been sneaking around with my best friend, and <em>neither</em> of you said anything? How long has this been going on?”</p><p>            “Nothing is going on,” Steve insisted, but his expression said otherwise. “We just took some art classes together, that’s it.”</p><p>            “Oh, y’all are talking about the nekkid girl in Steve’s room?” Sam said as he strolled into the room, taking a seat next to Bucky. You gripped the edge of the table.</p><p>            “SHE WAS NAKED IN YOUR ROOM?”</p><p>            Steve winced again, rubbing a hand over his forehead. “No, he’s talking about the sketch he found while he was trying to steal some of my clothing,” he said, glaring at Sam. “We seriously need to have a team meeting about boundaries.”</p><p>            Suddenly, Nat smacked her hand against her forehead. “Oh my gosh, it makes sense now. Her name is Lucy, that’s why you’ve been playing that Beatles song nonstop,” she said to Steve, and he grew even redder. </p><p>            You looked at Steve and placed a firm hand on the table between you. “Okay, Steve, you’re gonna have to start from the beginning. Now.”</p><p>            He got up abruptly, gathering his plate and mug, and traveling to the sink, placing them there before running his hands through his hair and facing you, keeping his eyes on his shoes. “There’s nothing to say. Nothing is going on between us, she doesn’t want that. If she did, she would--” he stopped and took a deep breath. He straightened his shoulders and looked at you, his gaze hardened and closed off, but you could see traces of pain on the edges of his features, and your heart just about broke. “She deserves to have fun this weekend, with whoever she wants. That’s all I want.”</p><p>            You sighed. “Well, you might get just that,” you said crossing your arms across your chest.</p><p>            He frowned. “What do you mean?”</p><p>            “There’s this guy in our class named Darren. He’s been glued to her since we started here, but she’s never given him the time of day. That’s probably going to change this weekend, or at least she hinted at as much,” you said as delicately as you could.</p><p>            “Now see, I done told you to make a move,” Sam said not-so-delicately, pointing a piece of bacon at Nat. “Didn’t I tell him to make a move?” he asked her, and she confirmed with a solemn nod. “Now some other dude is gonna get your nekkid girl.”</p><p>            Steve frowned down at his shoes again and he seemed to deflate, looking defeated and forlorn. Bucky punched Sam with his left arm, and they both started to bicker, silenced only by the calm yet murderous stare that Nat shot at them.</p><p>            “Cap, I can give you her number. Just tell her how you feel, I bet my life she feels the same way,” you offered, but you were only met with the same obstinate expression.</p><p>            “If that were true, why didn’t she tell you anything about us?” he asked, all but daring you to offer an acceptable explanation to that. When you didn’t, he nodded, more to himself than to you, and he left the room, leaving palpable disappointment in his wake.</p><p>            “This is why I shouldn’t be the last one to know things,” Bucky growled, getting up and dragging Sam by the collar up with him. He had a vicious glint in his clear blue eyes, the same glint that had often preceded him getting into a brawl when some idiot who tried to pick on his best friend back in the day. “We’re not going down without a fight,” he murmured to himself, dragging a protesting Sam out of the room after Steve.</p><p>            You watched them disappear around the corner and turned back to your breakfast, trying your best to hide your grin with a sip of orange juice. Perfect. You had all three of them right where you wanted.</p><p>            Nat eyed you suspiciously, and you busied yourself with reading what was left of Steve’s paper.</p><p>            “There is no Darren, is there,” Nat said, taking a sip of her coffee.</p><p>            You smiled over at her. “Oh, there is a Darren. He’d just never ask Lucy out.”</p><p>            Nat chuckled into her mug and set it down, shaking her head slowly. “Have I ever told you how much I like you?”</p><p>            You quirked an eyebrow at her. “You can say it as many times as you want, Nat.”</p><p>            You both laughed deviously, agreeing that it shouldn't be so easy to manipulate men who claimed to be Earth’s mightiest defenders.</p><p> </p><p>_______</p><p> </p><p>            Steve spent the rest of the day languishing in his room, trying his best not to think about Lucy or that freaking lake house, or whoever the hell Darren was. What kind of name was Darren anyway? Sounded like a douche.</p><p>            He tried everything to keep his mind occupied, but it seemed like the littlest things reminded him of Lucy. He tried tidying up his room, but his eyes kept landing on his closed sketchbook, his mind throbbing with the knowledge that her sketch was in there. He abandoned that task and decided to try and find something on Netflix to watch, but it seemed like the algorithm was hell bent on suggesting programs that Lucy had mentioned to him. He even resorted to baking, measuring out cups of flour and sugar, but he couldn’t stop thinking about the funny story Lucy told him about her failed attempt at making red velvet cake for her mother’s birthday when she was 13.</p><p>            Finally, he just sat on his couch and gave in, letting waves of regret wash over him as he placed earbuds in his ears, listening to that damn song again, stuffing homemade brownies in his mouth, and wondering if this Sergeant Pepper guy had any more room in his club for another lonely heart. He closed his eyes as the song restarted, letting his mind wander back to the small moments he shared with her, cursing the serum that ran through his veins for neglecting to mend a broken heart as fast as it healed his other wounds.</p><p>            He was violently shaken from his thoughts by a hand that clamped over his mouth and nose, pressing a damp cloth against his face. He tried to fight, but he could feel himself slipping out of consciousness, his body going slack, and his breathing growing heavy.</p><p>            Just as he was going under, he could have sworn he saw a flash of black and golden metallic patterns, ones that kind of reminded him of something, but his mind went dark.</p><p> </p><p>_________</p><p>           </p><p>            When Steve slowly came to, it took him a moment to realize where he was. He could hear distant chatter, two voices, both deep, and the sound of rushing wind. He cracked open his eyes and felt something strapped across his chest. A seatbelt, he decided after reaching up and tugging at it a little. His head was resting on something hard, and he looked over to see trees whizzing past him through the glass, the sky darker than he remembered it being before. He groaned, causing the voices to stop, and he could feel his brain waking up from whatever had knocked him out.</p><p>            “What the fuck,” he croaked out, his mouth feeling dry.</p><p>            “Whoa, Cap. Language,” he heard Sam say from the front seat. He twisted and looked back at Steve, an irritating smile on his face. “Rise and shine, Sleeping Beauty.”</p><p>            “Hey, punk,” Bucky said from the driver’s seat, his voice annoyingly chipper. He reached over and grabbed a thermos from the cup holder, holding it back for Steve to take. “Here, drink this. You need to be nice and sharp, we’ll be there in about ten minutes.”</p><p>            Steve took the thermos and opened it, the rich smell of coffee wafting into his nose. In his state the caffeine was welcomed, which was the only reason he took a sip. Steve agreed; he did need to be sharp so he could kick both his friends’ butts.</p><p>            “What the hell did you do to me?” he demanded, using his Cap voice at full force.</p><p>            “Chloroform,” Bucky said cheerfully. Steve had the passing thought that his Cap voice was not having the effect it used to. “I had to sneak some of the extra strong stuff from Cho’s lab. It knocked you out pretty good.”</p><p>            “Why on earth did you feel the need to drug me, Buck?” Steve asked exasperatedly, chugging some more coffee. There was not enough caffeine in the galaxy to help him deal with this nonsense.</p><p>            “Because we knew your Frosty the Snowman ass wouldn’t come with us willingly,” Sam chimed in, kicking his feet up on the dash. Bucky knocked his legs back down and they began to bicker, but Steve stopped them.</p><p>            “Where are we going?” Steve asked.</p><p>            “The lake house,” Sam and Bucky said in unison. Steve’s heart sank to his stomach.</p><p>            “Turn the car around. Now.” Steve said in the most sinister voice he could muster.</p><p>            “No,” Bucky said, matching his tone and giving him the Winter Soldier glare through the rear view mirror. It never failed to make Steve shudder.</p><p>            “Guys, please, let’s go home. We’re not even cadets, what would we do there?” Steve said, resorting to begging.</p><p>            “We’re going to get your girl, Steve,” Bucky said, letting his face soften again, though he had no intention of listening to his best friend’s pleas.</p><p>            “She’s not my girl,” Steve said firmly. “And as I recall, <em>your</em> girl made it clear that she was interested in Darren.”</p><p>            “So? You think we’re gonna let some whiny cadet steal her away from you?” Sam said, looking back at Steve again. “Look, I don’t know this Lucy girl that well, but I’ve seen you talk about her. Sure, you were a little drunk, but you should have seen your face, man. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you smile like that,” he said seriously.</p><p>            Steve sighed and looked out the window. “Guys…” he managed to say, his lungs stifled by the emotions pressing down on his chest.</p><p>            “Stevie,” Bucky said, using the nickname he reserved for dire situations. “What’s stopping you from telling her how you feel? What do you have to lose?”</p><p>            “Everything,” Steve said after a long moment. “I…the last time I felt like this, I was hurling towards my icy death in a plane, and then I woke up 70 years too late,” he said, a twinge of bitterness in his voice.</p><p>            The car was quiet for a few moments as the three of them let that sink in. Sam spoke up first. “Well, this time, there is no plane, no bombs, no Hydra. The only thing standing in the way of your happiness is <em>you.</em> And some asshole named Darren, who you could probably take down with your pinky,” Sam said matter-of-factly, and he managed to squeeze a chuckle out of Steve.</p><p>            “I dunno, guys, let’s just go home. I’ll talk to her when she gets back,” Steve said, but even he wasn’t convinced by that.</p><p>            “Too late, we’re already here,” Bucky said, turning the car into a spiraling driveway that was filled with cars. They could already hear the music that was blaring from the other side of the mansion, along with the happy screeches of the cadets letting loose. Bucky parked near the front entrance, turning off the engine and finally twisting to look back at Steve.</p><p>            “Go get her, Stevie,” he said softly, giving him a small grin. “You’re the one who pushed me to go after Y/N, and now I’m returning the favor. You deserve to be happy,” he said firmly.</p><p>            “Are you growing soft on me, old man?” Steve said, a smirk dancing on his lips.</p><p>            Bucky rolled his eyes. “Get out of here, punk.”</p><p>            Steve nodded and took a deep breath, steeling himself for what he was about to do. He knew his friends were right; he needed to do this for himself, to prove to himself that once and for all, he could ground himself in this time period without fear that it’ll all be taken away from him, that she’d be taken away from him. He pushed open the door, ready to march straight through the front door, but Sam stopped him.</p><p>            “Wait, here, take this,” he said, handing Steve an earpiece before pulling out a tablet and handing it to Bucky. “We’ll be with you the whole time, so don’t sweat.”</p><p>            Steve gave them a blank look, holding up the comms. “Seriously?”</p><p>            “Steve, you don’t know how to talk to women, you never have,” Bucky said plainly. “Lucky for you, me and Sam planned out exactly what you should say, so all you have to do is repeat after us,” he said triumphantly and gave Sam a high five.</p><p>            “Trust us, we got you, Cap,” Sam assured Steve.</p><p>            “I hate that I know both of you,” Steve grumbled, but he placed the comm in his ear, stepping out of the car and into the house. He had expected to walk into some kind of orgy from what Nat and Bucky had implied, but when he got in, there were just a bunch of cadets dancing in their swimwear to loud music. They were all so wrapped up in the party that most of them didn’t even give him a second glance, though there were a handful of wide-eyed looks that he got as he made his way through.</p><p>            <em>“Okay, if you keep going straight, there should be access to the backyard. That’s where she should be,”</em> Steve heard Bucky say in his ear.</p><p>            “How do you even know that?” Steve muttered as he followed directions.</p><p>            <em>“The tracker.”</em></p><p>            “Jesus, Buck, you put a tracker on her?”</p><p>            <em>“No, idiot. Every cadet gets one on their first day, it’s protocol or something. I just hacked into the system to find hers.”</em></p><p><em>            “Man, do you do that with Y/N?”</em> Steve heard Sam ask.</p><p>            <em>“…No, of course not. Not at all, why would you ask that?”</em></p><p>
  <em>            “You’re nuts, bro.”</em>
</p><p>            “Guys, I’m outside,” Steve let them know as he stepped out onto the back deck. There were even more cadets outside, a large bonfire in the middle of the yard, everyone either playing drinking games, dancing, or sitting on logs. Steve scanned the crowd, but there were no signs of Lucy yet.</p><p>            <em>“Alright, she should be a few yards to your left, near the fire,”</em> Bucky said, and Steve went there, ignoring the few shouts of ‘Cap’ that he heard from the drunken cadets.</p><p>            “I don’t see her, maybe she’s in the house,” Steve said, feeling his confidence starting to drain. He really wanted to turn and bail, but he reminded himself that Lucy was worth any humiliation he might suffer.</p><p>            <em>“You should be able to see her, you’re right there,” </em>Bucky insisted.</p><p>            Steve was about to argue with that, but he turned and his eyes landed on her. She was on the other side of the fire, wearing a blue, polka-dotted one piece, sitting on the lap of who Steve could only guess was Darren. She was laughing, her hair flowing freely around her shoulders. Darren whispered something in her ear and she laughed again, holding up the s’more in her hand and letting him take a bite. Steve stood there and watched for a moment, feeling horribly out of place, like he was butting in where he shouldn’t. She looked happy, and carefree, all without him there. He had the overwhelming feeling to turn around, go back to the compound, and never speak of this again, but…he remembered all those mornings with her. All those conversations in that small diner, the way she opened up to him and how he opened up to her. The way she held him close on the rides home, the way it seemed like it was hard for both of them to say goodbye, even when they knew they would see each other the following week. It couldn’t have all been in his head. There had to be something more underneath it all, and this was his chance to find out.</p><p>            He made his way around the fire and towards her, each step stronger than the last. He saw her glance up and spot him, stopping her conversation short and staring at him with wide eyes. Darren followed her gaze, and while his eyebrows raised, he remained just as calm as he was before.</p><p>            Steve stopped in front of them, losing all ability to speak English (or any coherent language for that matter) at the sight of her. She was speechless too, watching him as chocolate and marshmallow dripped down her fingers from the forgotten treat.</p><p>            <em>“Stevie? Do you see her?”</em></p><p>
  <em>            “He’s probably looking right at her.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>            “You’re right. Steve, listen to me. Just say hi. Just hello. Start there.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>            “He’s gonna screw this up—ow! Don’t hit me with your metal arm, fuck.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>            “Don’t say stupid shit, then. Steve, you can do this, just say hi, damnit.”</em>
</p><p>            “Hey, Ste—Cap,” Lucy said first, getting up and handing the s’more to Darren. She licked some of the chocolate off of her fingers and looked up at him, her smile a bit unsure.</p><p>            “Hey man, to what do we owe the pleasure?” Darren said with a lazy grin, reaching up and letting his hand run over the back of Lucy’s thigh. Steve bristled at the sight, but he managed to nod cordially at Darren before looking at Lucy again.</p><p>            “Hi,” he said finally, and his own voice sounded foreign to him.</p><p>            “Hey,” she said again.</p><p>            Silence.</p><p>            <em>“Ask her if she would like to talk, somewhere private.”</em></p><p>
  <em>            “Tell her she looks hot, chicks dig that.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>            “Steve don’t listen to him--”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>            “Ow!”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>            “—Listen to me. Ask her to talk.”</em>
</p><p>Steve took a deep breath, shaking his head a bit to get his thoughts together. “Do you want to go somewhere? Not here?” he asked. “To talk?”</p><p>            “Um, yeah sure,” she said, looking around. “Um, how about, on the dock? There’s no one there,” she said pointing to the walkway by the lake.</p><p>            “Yeah, that’ll be great,” he said, clearing his throat and willing himself to act like a normal human being.</p><p>            “Don’t take too long, that ass is mine, remember,” Darren told Lucy, and she laughed again.</p><p>            Steve ignored the way his whole body burned with that exchange as he followed her away from the crowd and dumbfounded looks of the other cadets. They walked to the end of the dock, the music becoming muted background noise as it gave way to the sound of small waves crashing against the shore. A few fireflies buzzed around them, and the din of crickets filled in their silence.</p><p>            “So, I didn’t think this would be the sort of thing you would show up to,” Lucy said, her grin mischievous, and his heart began to beat rapidly.</p><p>            “Uh, it’s not, really,” he said, his voice low and heavy with nerves.</p><p>            She noticed his discomfort and frowned, peering up at his face more closely. “Then what brings you here, Cap?”</p><p>            He winced slightly at the title, wanting to hear her say his real name again. He looked down at her, and all the words he had wished he could say to her vanished, leaving him empty and terrified.</p><p>            <em>“Steve, don’t panic, okay? Tell her--”</em></p><p>            <em>“Tell her you wanna get with her.”</em></p><p>
  <em>            “Wilson, gosh, shut the hell up. You don’t just say that to a dame, you need to lead up to it, romance her.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>            “This ain’t the olden days, anymore, hate to break it to you. Modern girls like it when you’re direct, none of that flowery mess. Tell her ‘you’re fine and you’re mine’ and let’s go.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>            “No, Steve, listen to me, tell her--” </em>
</p><p>“You’re a drug,” Steve blurted out. That silenced the two men in his ear and the woman in front of him.</p><p>            <em>“Did he just say…”</em></p><p>
  <em>            “Maybe he is gonna screw this up.”</em>
</p><p>            Lucy’s face fought between different reactions, ultimately landing on confused. “I’m a what?”</p><p>            “The song that you’re named after,” he said, but that didn’t make her any less confused. “I looked it up, and apparently, a lot of people think the Beatles wrote it about the drug, LSD, even though John Lennon said it wasn’t,” he rushed on, barely in control of what was coming out of his mouth. “And that’s how I feel about you. You’re a drug, and I’m hooked. The Sundays I spent with you were some of the best days I’ve ever had. I got pieces of you, glimpses into who you are and what you love…and I need more. You gave me little hits, and I’ve spent the last few weeks itching for my next fix, another chance to learn more about you, to be with you, but I was too scared to actually do something about it because I haven’t felt this way in so long.”</p><p>            He drew in a long breath. “Lucy, I came here because I want more, of you. Of us. I don’t want just Sunday mornings, I want every day with you, all the time you can spare me. I know that Darren is probably a good guy, but Lucy if you give me a chance, if you give <em>us</em> a chance…I think we could light up the world together.” He finished, breathing hard and looking right at her, clenching his fists and waiting for her reaction.</p><p>            <em>“Okay, alright. We started off a bit shaky there, but you pulled through, Cap.”</em></p><p>
  <em>            “Good job, Steve, let her have it. Don’t hold anything back.”</em>
</p><p>            Lucy’s eyebrows were furrowed, her lips pressed together. She squeezed her eyes shut and opened them again, as if she were expecting to wake up from a dream. She let out a deep breath of her own and looked up at him.</p><p>            “Did you say Darren?” she asked, her voice just as breathless as his.</p><p>            He frowned, wondering if that’s all she got from his speech. “Yeah. That’s the guy you were with, right?”</p><p>            Lucy closed her eyes again, still trying to compute everything he just said. “Yeah, but, why would you be concerned with him?”</p><p>            Steve shuffled nervously. “Y/N said that you were thinking of finally giving him the time of day.”</p><p>            “Y/N? Wait, so you came all the way up here, to tell me all of that, because she said that I was going to hook up with <em>Darren</em> this weekend? Are you sure she didn’t say someone else?” she asked incredulously.</p><p>            “No. Is there someone else?” he asked, wishing for a random tidal wave to come and wash him away.</p><p>            “What? No, there’s no one. Steve,” she said, looking him right in the eye. “Darren is a flaming homosexual. His words, not mine. Everyone knows that. He’d ask you out faster than he’d ask me, but even then, I don’t think his boyfriend would be too happy about that.”</p><p>            Steve blinked at her, dumbfounded. “But…he said that your ass belongs to him…”</p><p>            Lucy laughed. “He's always telling me how jealous he is if my ass, and how he’s gonna steal it one day. I don’t blame him, it’s a good ass,” she said, glancing back at it.</p><p>            It was Steve’s turn to shut his eyes. It made it easier to visualize all the ways he would murder you.</p><p>            <em>“Dude, your girl is conniving.”</em></p><p>
  <em>            “I know. God, I love her. Too bad we won’t get to use this.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>            “You brought a glock?! You were gonna shoot up some cadets?”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>            “Just a few warning shots. In case Steve needed back up.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>            “You need help. For real, for real.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>            “My therapist says I’m fine, thankyouverymuch.”</em>
</p><p>“Steve?” Lucy said softly.</p><p>            “Yeah?” he replied, his eyes still closed. He only opened them when he felt her hand slip into his, a sweet and nervous smile on her face.</p><p>            “I want more of you, too,” she whispered, stepping even closer to him.</p><p>            “You do?” he whispered, his heart racing for all the right reasons.</p><p>            She nodded. “I thought that I could just forget about you. I thought that maybe I was just star-struck or something, but I don’t want to know more about Captain America. I want to know Steve Rogers. I want to know everything about you, every part of you,” she said, her voice wavering a bit.</p><p>            They stared at each other for what could have been a minute, or an hour, just smiling at each other and taking in what each finally confessed out loud.</p><p>            <em>“WOOOOOO! My man! Now kiss her, dawg!”</em></p><p>
  <em>            “Give her a big, sloppy wet one, Steve!”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>            “Grab dat ass, too!”</em>
</p><p>            Lucy smirked. “They’re probably telling you to kiss me, aren’t they?”</p><p>            Steve froze and the cheering in his ear stopped. “What—who—what are you talking about?” he asked weakly.</p><p>            <em>“We’ve been compromised, abort mission.”</em></p><p>
  <em>            “This chick is too smart. Cut your losses, Cap.”</em>
</p><p>            “May I?” Lucy said, gesturing to Steve’s ear. He nodded, and she carefully removed the earpiece and placed it in her own ear. “Hey fellas. I’m assuming this is Barnes, and probably Wilson, too?”</p><p>            <em>“…Hey, girl. How you doin’?”</em></p><p>
  <em>            “Hey, Luc.”</em>
</p><p>“Hi. So, I think we’ve got it from here, guys,” she said, winking up at Steve. “You can take the rest of the night off.” With that, she took the comm out and slipped it into Steve’s pocket. She smiled, and he smiled back.</p><p>            “You should still totally kiss me,” she informed him, and he laughed, her heart soaring already.</p><p>            “Anything you want, doll,” he whispered. He placed his hand on her cheek, letting his thumb trace her bottom lip, and her breath hitched, her eyes fluttering shut. He leaned down, letting his lips replace his thumb, grazing over her lips ever so slightly. She stepped closer to him, as close as she could, reaching up and snaking her arms around his neck. She pressed her lips onto his, and she could feel him grin against her. He deepened the kiss, his tongue sliding over hers, shyly at first, but with more hunger as she pulled him even closer. They broke apart after a while, his forehead resting on hers, both of them catching their breaths.</p><p>            “Lucy?” he said after a while, lifting his head and looking down at her.</p><p>            She nodded, not yet trusting her own voice.</p><p>            A playful smile tugged at his mouth, a devious one she would even say, and he lifted an eyebrow.</p><p>            “I’m a lefty,” he said simply.</p><p>            Her eyes widened, her lips parting in shock, and he barely let the blush color her cheeks before he was diving in again, capturing his lips against hers, just like she captured his heart.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p>
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